Hospital work often requires coping with some of the most stressful situations found in any workplace. Hospital workers must deal
with life-threatening injuries and illnesses complicated by overwork, understaffing, tight schedules, paperwork, intricate or
malfunctioning equipment, complex hierarchies of authority and skills, dependent and demanding patients, and patient deaths; all of these contribute to stress.

Health Effects

Stress has been associated with loss of appetite, ulcers, mental disorder, migraines, difficulty in sleeping,
emotional instability, disruption of social and family life, and the increased use of cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. Stress can also affect worker attitudes and behavior. Some frequently reported consequences of stress among hospital workers are difficulties in
communicating with very ill patients, maintaining pleasant relations with coworkers, and judging the seriousness of a potential
emergency.

Possible Solutions

Some of the methods that have successfully reduced hospital worker stress and job dissatisfaction include:

Educate employees and management about job stress.

Address work-related stressors, such as inadequate work space, unreasonable work load, lack of readily available resources,
inadequate and unsafe equipment.

An employee assistance program (EAP) can improve the ability of workers to cope with difficult work
situations. Stress management programs teach workers about the nature and sources of stress, the effects of stress on health, and
personal skills to reduce stress-for example, time management or relaxation exercises.

EAPs also provide individual counseling for employees for both work and personal problems.

This is done by bringing in a consultant to recommend ways to improve working conditions. This approach is the most direct way to
reduce stress at work. It involves the identification of stressful aspects of work (e.g., excessive workload, conflicting expectations)
and the design of strategies to reduce or eliminate the identified stressors. Some strategies include:

Ensure that the workload is in line with workers' capabilities and resources.

Design jobs to provide meaning, stimulation, and opportunities for workers to use their skills.

Clearly define workers' roles and responsibilities.

Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions and actions affecting their jobs.